Dr Lili Song, Our People, Faculty of Law, University of Otago, New Zealand

Lili Song 2019 image

LLB(Shanghai UFE) LLM(East China UPL) PhD(Well)

Contact

Teaching

LAWS 403 Immigration and Refugee Law (course convenor, coordinator and lecturer)
LAWS 353 Law in the South Pacific (course convenor, coordinator and lecturer)
LAWS 202 Law of Contract (course lecturer)

Research interests

Lili’s research interests include refugee law, Chinese law, Pacific law, law of the sea, and public international law issues relating to China or South Pacific island states. She has gratefully received research fellowships/awards from institutions in New Zealand, Australia, Vanuatu, the US, China, and South Korea, including an Australian Endeavour Research Fellowship, a Michigan Grotius Fellowship, a New Zealand Law Foundation research grant, a Human Rights in Asia fellowship and a Victoria University of Wellington Postgraduate Research Excellence Award, and has conducted fieldwork in Myanmar, South Korea, China, India, and Cook Islands. She is the author of Chinese Refugee Law and Policy (Cambridge University Press, 2020).

Lili's Google Scholar webpage
Lili on Twitter: @SongLili2

Background

Prior to joining the Faculty, Lili taught at the University of the South Pacific in Vanuatu for about three years. She has held research or visiting positions at Oxford University, Melbourne University, the Michigan Law School, the Australian National University, the Humanities Institute in Myanmar, and Northwestern University in the US. Before entering academia, she worked as a lawyer at an international law firm and then as an in-house counsel at an international commercial bank, both in Shanghai, China. In 2012, she completed an internship with the United Nations Office of Legal Affairs in New York.

Lili serves on the editorial boards of the International Journal of Refugee Law and Climate Law and Policy, as secretary of the New Zealand Asian Studies Society, and on the advisory board of RefLaw.org (an e-journal launched by the Michigan Law School), and regularly provides Country of Origin Information and expert reports to asylum courts and tribunals. From 2016 to 2019, she served on the editorial board of the Journal of South Pacific Law. She is a member of the Centre for Global Migrations (University of Otago) and the Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network.

RefLaw e-journal
Centre for Global Migrations (Univesity of Otago)
Asia Pacific Refugeee Rights Network

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Publications

Song, L., Mosses, M., & Giraudeau, G. (2023). The ambiguous history of Matthew and Hunter Islands: Tracing the roots of Vanuatu and French claims. Journal of Pacific History. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1080/00223344.2022.2146577

Song, L. (2022, October). The Tongan box historic claim: Potential legal issues. Verbal presentation at the MFAT Beeby Exchange on International Law Dunedin: International/Transnational Legal Issues Relating to the Pacific, [Hybrid].

Song, L. (2022). Exit regulation in the People's Republic of China: Law, policy and practice. International Migration. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1111/imig.13058

Song, L. (2022, January). Maritime boundary disputes in the South Pacific. East West Centre Insights: Asia-Pacific Political Transitions. Retrieved from https://www.eastwestcenter.org/events/ewc-insights-asia-pacific-political-transitions-featuring-dr-lili-song

Song, L. (2022, March). Foreigners in the Chinese criminal justice system. Global Seminar Series, New Zealand Contemporary China Research Centre, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand. [Public Seminar].

Song, L. (2020). Chinese refugee law and policy. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 226p. doi: 10.1017/9781108669474

Authored Book - Research

Song, L. (2022). Controversial high-profile detention and prosecution of foreigners. In L. Jaivin, E. S. Klein & S. Strange (Eds.), China story yearbook: Contradiction. (pp. 35-38). Acton, Australia: ANU Press. doi: 10.22459/CSY.2022.01A

Chapter in Book - Research

Arakaki, O., & Song, L. (2021). Regional refugee regimes: East Asia. In C. Costello, M. Foster & J. McAdam (Eds.), Oxford handbook of international refugee law. (pp. 389-406). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Chapter in Book - Research

Song, L. (2019). The power of giving: China deepens involvement in refugee affairs. In J. Golley, L. Jaivin, P. J. Farrelly & S. Strange (Eds.), China Story Yearbook: Power. (pp. 313-316). Canberra, Australia: ANU Press. doi: 10.22459/CSY.2019

Chapter in Book - Research

Song, L. (2019). 中国《出境入境管理法》中的人道条款探析 [Examination of humanitarian clauses in the Chinese exit and entry administration law]. In Y. Wang & G. Liu (Eds.), 流动与治理：全球人才、移民与移民法 [Mobility and governance: Global talents, migrants and migration law]. (pp. 162-172). Beijing, China: World Knowledge Press.

Chapter in Book - Research

Song, L. (2020). China and the international refugee protection regime: Past, present, and potentials. In Y. Shiobara, J. Akashi, C. Tien-shi, N. Hashimoto, C. Kashiwazaki, A. Kondo, … M. Yamada (Eds.), Migration policies in Asia (Vol. III). (pp. 265-290). New Delhi, India: Sage.

Chapter in Book - Other

Journal - Research Article

Song, L. (2022). Exit regulation in the People's Republic of China: Law, policy and practice. International Migration. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1111/imig.13058

Journal - Research Article

Song, L. (2022). The Tongan box historic claim: Potential legal issues. Comparative Law Journal of the Pacific / Journal de Droit Comparé du Pacifique, 27, 57-72. Retrieved from https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/law/research/publications/about-nzacl/publications

Journal - Research Article

Song, L. (2019). The curious history of the Minerva Reefs: Tracing the origin of Tongan and Fijian claims over the Minerva Reefs. Journal of Pacific History, 54(3), 417-430. doi: 10.1080/00223344.2019.1573664

Journal - Research Article

Song, L. (2018). China and the international refugee protection regime: Past, present, and potentials. Refugee Survey Quarterly, 37(2), 139-161. doi: 10.1093/rsq/hdy003

Journal - Research Article

Song, L. (2018). Forced migration of ethnic Kachins from Myanmar to China: Law and politics behind China's response. Asian & Pacific Migration Journal, 27(2), 190-208. doi: 10.1177/0117196818766905

Journal - Research Article

Song, L. (2018). Strengthening responsibility sharing with South–South cooperation: China’s role in the global compact on refugees. International Journal of Refugee Law, 30(4), 687-690. doi: 10.1093/ijrl/eey059

Journal - Research Article

Song, L., & Mosses, M. (2018). Revisiting ocean boundary disputes in the South Pacific in light of the South China Sea arbitration: A legal perspective. International Journal of Marine & Coastal Law, 33(4), 768-798. doi: 10.1163/15718085-12333079

Journal - Research Article

Song, L. (2017). Refugees or border residents from Myanmar? The status of displaced ethnic Kachins and Kokangs in Yunnan Province, China. International Journal of Refugee Law, 29(3), 466-487. doi: 10.1093/ijrl/eex031

Journal - Research Article

Song, L. (2014). Who shall we help? The refugee definition in a Chinese context. Refugee Survey Quarterly, 33(1), 44-58. doi: 10.1093/rsq/hdt022

Journal - Research Article

Song, L. (2020). Shedding light on RSD in China. Forced Migration Review, 65, 11-12. Retrieved from www.fmreview.org/recognising-refugees

Journal - Research Other

Song, L. (2016). Namah v Pato [2016] PGSC 13; SC1497 (26 April 2016): Unconstitutionality of transfer and detention of asylum seekers from Australia to Papua New Guinea. Journal of South Pacific Law, (2), 193-206.

Journal - Research Other

Song, L. (2018). Refugee status determination by South Pacific Island States: Legal overview, recent developments, and a brief critique. Reflex: The journal of the Asia Pacific Chapter of the International Association of Refugee & Migration Judges, 3(2), 8-14. Retrieved from https://www.iarmj.org/regional-chapters/asia-pacific-chapter

Journal - Professional & Other Non-Research Articles

Song, L. (2015). No easy refuge in ancestral land: Kokang refugees receive inadequate humanitarian assistance and legal protection in China. Rights in Exile, (May).

Journal - Professional & Other Non-Research Articles

Song, L. (2014). Refugee protection in China: Recent legal and policy developments. Rights in Exile, (September).

Journal - Professional & Other Non-Research Articles

Song, L. (2013). A step forward: China’s new exit-entry law and legal protection for refugees in China. YLC Advocate, (Winter), 20-21.

Journal - Professional & Other Non-Research Articles

Song, L. (2021). Otherness and the politics of judicial sovereignty: The status of foreigners in the Chinese criminal justice system. Proceedings of the 24th Biennial New Zealand Asian Studies Society International Conference (NZASIA): Asia: Change, Disruptions and Resilience. (pp. 18). Retrieved from https://www.nzasia.org.nz/conferences.html

Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

Conference Contribution - Verbal presentation and other Conference outputs

Song, L., Giraudeau, G., & Mosses, M. (2021, November). The mysterious history of Matthew and Hunter Islands: Tracing the roots of Vanuatu and French claims. Verbal presentation at the Pacific History Association (PHA) Conference, [Online].

Conference Contribution - Verbal presentation and other Conference outputs

Song, L. (2019, June). Who owns the Minerva Reefs? History, law and politics. Verbal presentation at the Pacific Islands Political Studies Association (PIPSA) Conference: Democracy, Sovereignty and Self-Determination in the Pacific Islands, Nouméa, New Caledonia.

Conference Contribution - Verbal presentation and other Conference outputs

Song, L. (2019, September). The curious history of the Minerva Reefs: Tracing the origin of Tongan and Fijian claims. Verbal presentation at the Otago Pacific Academic Staff Caucus (PASC) Inaugural Symposium, Dunedin, New Zealand.

Conference Contribution - Verbal presentation and other Conference outputs

Other Research Output

Song, L. (2022, May). China: Foreigners under the law. Asia Media Centre: Opinion & Analysis. Retrieved from https://www.asiamediacentre.org.nz/opinion-and-analysis/china-foreigners-under-the-law/

Other Research Output

Song, L. (2021, December). Inaugural China-Pacific Foreign Minister's meeting sheds light on Beijing's Pacific Islands strategy. East-West Wire, East-West Center, Honolulu, HI. Retrieved from https://www.eastwestcenter.org/news-center/east-west-wire/inaugural-china-pacific-foreign-ministers-meeting-sheds-light-beijing-s

Other Research Output

Song, L. (2021, March). Anywhere but here? China's response to refugee protection during COVID-19 [Opinion]. openDemocracy: Pandemic Borders project. Retrieved from https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/pandemic-border/anywhere-but-here-chinas-response-to-refugee-protection-during-covid-19

Other Research Output

Song, L., (2018, June). Refugee status determination by South Pacific island countries: Legal overview, recent developments, and a brief critique. RefLaw, Forum of the University of Michigan Law School. Retrieved from http://www.reflaw.org/refugee-status-determination-by-south-pacific-island-states-legal-overview-recent-developments-and-a-brief-critique

Other Research Output

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